Struggling to mother: A consequence of inhibitive nursing interactions in the neonatal nursery

This paper reports on one aspect of a grounded theory study of women's expe riences of mothering in the nursery. Over 60 hours of interview data with 2 8 Australian women were analyzed. The analysis revealed that mothering in t he nursery was a three-way interaction. "Struggling to mother" was the labe l given to the major category that represented how women responded to unsat isfactory nursing encounters. The findings illuminate how inhibitive nursin g interactions relegate women to the periphery of care and engender an arra y of negative emotional responses that leave women feeling inconsequential to the welfare of their infant. Ultimately this has implications for how wo men take up their role as mothers in the nursery and for their sense of con fidence, competence, and connection with their infant.